What is LASIK & How Does it Work?
LASIK works by reshaping the front surface of the eye (called the cornea) so the light rays that enter the eye bend in the correct way to give good vision. When a person wears their glasses or contacts, the light rays are altered in front of the eye.
When the cornea is reshaped, the light rays are altered on the surface of the eye. This means with LASIK, the patient enjoys 24/7 vision correction—as compared to glasses or contacts that only provide the correcting effect when the patient is wearing lenses.
LASIK for Nearsightedness
When a person is nearsighted, the eye is anatomically too long for the shape of that person’s cornea; therefore, the rays of light fall short of the person’s retina. This results in blurry vision for the patient.
To correct this blurry vision, a patient can wear corrective lenses or potentially have LASIK. With LASIK, the corneal surface is flattened with a cool laser beam to alter the path of the light rays. This results in rays of light landing in focus onto the retina, providing a clear picture of the world to the patient.
LASIK for Farsightedness
When a person is farsighted the opposite is true for the cornea and the rays of light. The eye is anatomically too short for the shape of that person’s cornea; therefore, the rays of light fall behind the person’s retina. To correct this blurry vision, a patient can wear corrective lenses or potentially have LASIK.
With LASIK, the corneal surface is steepened with a cool laser beam to alter the path of the light rays. This results in rays of light landing in focus onto the retina, giving a clear picture of the world to the patient.
LASIK for Astigmatism
When a person has astigmatism, the cornea is shaped more like a football than a basketball, causing distortion to both distance and near vision. With LASIK, the corneal surface is reshaped to be spherical so the light rays bend correctly to focus the light, resulting in a clearer picture of the world.